What Will My Stomach Look Like After a Hysterectomy?

Incisions and Scarring After Hysterectomy Surgery

As a woman considering a surgery like hysterectomy, it’s natural to wonder how the surgery will affect your appearance. You’ve probably heard that hysterectomy has come a long way since the days of open abdominal surgery – and what you’ve heard is true. Hysterectomy for fibroids, abnormal bleeding, and pelvic pain can now be performed laparoscopically, meaning you will only have a few small incisions on your abdomen instead of a large, very noticeable incision like the one that comes with open abdominal hysterectomy. In addition to minimal incision, laparoscopic hysterectomy has even more advantages like less pain, bleeding and risk of infection. Women who undergo minimally invasive hysterectomy are also able to return to work and life much faster than those who have traditional hysterectomy.

What Makes Laprascopic Hysterectomy Different?

So what exactly does “laparoscopic” mean? Laparoscopy is a type of surgery in which a surgeon makes a number of small cuts on the abdomen – specifically on the area of your stomach starting just below your belly button. A thin tube with a light and camera on it is inserted into the abdomen. Using the camera, the surgeon is able to see the organs inside the abdomen in great detail, allowing him or her to perform very precise maneuvers to remove the uterus.

Once the uterus is separated from the rest of the abdominal tissue, it is removed from the body – either through one of the small laparoscopic incisions on the abdomen or through the vagina. Several small stitches will be placed internally near the top of the vagina and will dissolve within several weeks while you are recovering from your hysterectomy at home.

How Many Incisions Will I Have?

If you’re a candidate for minimally invasive hysterectomy, severe scarring shouldn’t be a worry for you. With this type of hysterectomy surgery, three minimal incisions mean three small abdominal scars that are hardly noticeable. The first incision is placed deep inside the belly button where it will barely be visible once it heals. The other two incisions will be just inside the prominent part of your hipbones – one on each side. One of the hip incisions is about half a centimeter and the other is one centimeter (about the width of a standard yellow pencil).

Content Sponsored by: MIRI Women – The Minimally Invasive Reproductive Surgery Institute (MIRI) brings together highly skilled, board-certified specialists who are focused on women’s health. Our team of professionals is trained in advanced gynecology, specifically hysterectomy surgery. Philosophically, our partner physicians take a “less is more” approach to health care, by first treating patients with the most conservative therapies. MIRI focuses on physical healing, while emphasizing that a patient’s emotional well-being is just as important.